MALARIA: Sri Lanka

An oft-cited story describes how Sri Lanka reduced its incidence of malaria from 2·8 million cases in 1946 to a mere 17 in 1963, only to see the rate resurge in subsequent years. Yet, in the past decade, Sri Lanka has brought its annual caseload down from more than 200 000 confi rmed cases in 2000 to just 670 cases in 2008, with no deaths due to malaria in more than 2 years.
Similarly, in the Philippines, the past decade has seen nine provinces become malaria free, bringing the total to 22 of 81.
Eight of 20 malaria-endemic countries in WHO’s Western Pacifi c and Southeast Asia regions achieved declines in annual cases of more than 50% from 2000 to 2008.
Success stories such as these reverberate throughout Asia–Pacific in this era of renewed commitment to elimination.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60350-9/fulltext